The Golden Pass project role in the U.S. Trade
Exxon Mobil, an international Oil and Gas Company and Qatar Petroleum, a LNG producer company, are officially moving forward with a $10 billion liquefied natural gas export terminal in Texas. The new project will be called as Golden Pass. According to the Department of Energy estimates, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) will play a major role in the U.S. exporting more energy than it imports by 2020. Qatar Petroleum departed from the oil producer group OPEC so that they can focus on the expansion of its natural gas business.
Development in U.S. LNG exports
Out of 100 percent, Qatar owns 70% of the project, while ExxonMobil has the remaining 30%. The project is designed to send U.S. LNG supplies to growing markets across the globe. The plans to export LNG from Exxon’s Golden Pass will rejuvenate U.S. energy production. Golden Pass project was initially built to import LNG; however, due to the growth in U.S. natural gas production over the last decade the American drillers are currently searching for more buyers abroad.
Project Target Set by Qatar, Exxon Mobil
The task to remodel the terminal near Port Arthur, Texas, along the Louisiana border will begin soon. They expect the facility to start up in 2024 and produce roughly 16 million tons of LNG per year. In 2017, the total U.S. LNG exports were 14.3 million tons which increased to 15 million tons through the first three quarters of 2018. Trade in LNG almost reached 300 million tons, and it is still growing.
Growth and employment
Exxon Mobil Company expects that the project will provide 200 permanent jobs and 9,000 positions while it’s under construction. The shipping channel in the Texas-Louisiana border is residence to the Sabine Pass LNG terminal operated by Cheniere, a player in the emerging Gulf Coast export hub. Darren Woods, Exxon Chairman and CEO stated: “Golden Pass will provide an increased, reliable, long-term supply of liquefied natural gas to global gas markets. It will also stimulate local growth and create thousands of jobs”.
